


A Moment to Breathe

by Oliver__Niko



Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Smut, I had a dire need for some soft making out and the like, Just some really cute shit honestly, M/M, Mild Smut, Non-Explicit, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-27
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:54:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21584884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oliver__Niko/pseuds/Oliver__Niko
Summary: Mikleo is overworking himself a little to catch up to the other seraphim, so Sorey helps him to relax.
Relationships: Mikleo/Sorey (Tales of Zestiria), Sorey/Mikleo (Tales of Zestiria)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 82





	A Moment to Breathe

**Author's Note:**

> I saw a post on Twitter about how you don't need penetration, genitalia touched etc to be turned on or even reach a climax, and it just really put me in the mood to write some soft, sensual intimacy. I hope you enjoy!

“ _Argh!”_

Sorey and Edna, who have been working together on their Armatization, turn together as they hear Mikleo’s yell. A powerful jet of water smashes a rock he is using as a target. Dozens of pieces scatter in all directions. He breathes out, rubbing at his forehead with the back of his hand.

“My, you certainly are getting better!” exclaims Lailah, her hands clapping together. “Perhaps it’s time to call it a day?”

Mikleo shakes his head. “The sun hasn’t even set yet.”

“Mikleo …”

“A little more, all right?”

“Meebo’s at it again,” says Edna, leaning back against a low wall behind her. “Inferiority complex or what?”

Sorey hums. “No, I wouldn’t say it’s a complex, really … Just that he feels a need to catch up to you all as soon as possible.”

“He’s the same age as you and Rose, pretty much. Why feel like he’s behind the whole party?”

“Well, Rose and I are a bit different.” He watches as Mikleo, under Lailah’s guidance, begins to shoot at targets with shards of ice. His accuracy has improved immensely. “I was granted the Shepherd’s power—”

“Bet that turns Meebo on.”

“—and Rose has been Dezel’s vessel for some time, is trained as an assassin _and_ is my Squire. Mikleo doesn’t have anything like that, away from the Sub Lord pact.” Sorey waves his hands frantically. “N-Not that I’m saying he’s weak or anything! It’s just … I think he might feel like he’s far too behind because of that, like I might leave him behind.”

“Well, I’m not going to deny that we have advantages. But with how stubborn and determined he is, no disadvantages are really going to put a stop to him anyway.” She scoops up her umbrella, tapping it against her shoulder. “You know what _would_ put a stop to him, though? Overworking himself to death.”

“He’s not doing enough for that.”

“For now. Types like him aren’t able to rest until people make them.” Edna gets to her feet, opening up her umbrella despite how the sun is already setting. “So go on, make him. He’s done enough.”

Sorey nods, knowing he agrees with her words. He stands himself. A hand waves in the air as he calls, “Mikleo! Are you done for today?”

“You can’t ask him that, because then he’ll say no,” says Edna.

And sure enough, Mikleo shakes his head, calling back, “Not yet. I’ll wait until the sun sets.”

Rolling her eyes, Edna says, “Go and be a good boyfriend. I’m going to see where Rose and Dezel went.”

Without another word, she wanders off. Meanwhile, Sorey makes his way closer to Lailah and Mikleo. Lailah gives Sorey a rather concerned smile as he approaches.

“I think you’ve really done enough,” says Sorey, watching as Mikleo sends a water serpent colliding with a boulder nearby.

“Half an hour more won’t kill me.”

“Mik—le—o,” says Lailah, her arms folded. “Three against one, when you include Edna.”

“But—”

“I’m as stubborn as you are, Mikleo,” says Sorey, placing his hands on his hips. “And I’m not going to stop pestering you until you stop.”

Mikleo is still for a moment, pondering this. They both know that what Sorey says is true. In fact, Sorey would literally bother Mikleo for hours on end over something if he had to. This is likely what causes Mikleo to sigh. He holds the hand gripping the staff to the side, causing it to disappear.

“Happy?”

“Mm no, not yet. You’re still clearly restless.” Mikleo grumbles as an arm is thrown around his shoulders. “Lailah, Edna’s probably going to give up in two minutes trying to find Rose and Dezel. Wanna go help her?”

“Yes, that’s likely for the best,” says Lailah. She and the two men part ways, the latter now heading towards the inn they are currently staying at.

Though Mikleo is irritable along the way, he still chooses to not complain away from his obvious huffs. As though making sure he doesn’t run away and try to start breaking up rocks again, Sorey’s arm doesn’t shift from Mikleo until they have returned to their room.

“I’m not stupid, you know,” says Mikleo, tugging the zip of his jacket down a little to breathe easier. “I know what my limits are.”

“But you’re trying to surpass them, aren’t you? And naturally you’re going to have to push yourself a lot to get there.” When Mikleo remains silent, Sorey rubs a hand up and down Mikleo’s upper arm. “Hey. I’m not saying you can’t push yourself at all to improve. Just watch it, okay? It’s going to do no good burning yourself out in the process.”

Mikleo hums. “I suppose. Nor is it really worth these aches.”

“Sit!”

“Huh?”

“Sit down, I’ll be right with you! And take your jacket off.”

Eyeing him curiously, Mikleo perches on the end of the bed, shrugging off the jacket and leaving himself in the vest top underneath. Sorey places his Shepherd’s cloak to one side before sliding onto the bed behind Mikleo. His hands are taking hold of Mikleo’s shoulders immediately.

“Oh.” Sorey feels Mikleo slouch a little. “That’s what you’re doing.”

Sorey grins, beginning to rub his thumbs into the muscles around his shoulder blades. “Yeah, you’ve got some knots here—I guess you’ve been tense for a while, huh?”

Mikleo hums. “Probably. Been swinging that staff around like— _ow.”_

“Sorry, less pressure?”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll get used to it.”

In very little time at all, Mikleo does exactly this. He reminds Sorey of a deflating balloon as he rests underneath Sorey’s hands. Sorey leans forward, placing a kiss on top of Mikleo’s head.

“I could do this better if you took this off too and laid down.”

“You just want me topless.”

“No, really, I mean it!” Sorey nuzzles into the back of Mikleo’s neck, kissing beneath the hair. “Although you _are_ beautiful, so I’m not going to deny that’s a perk.”

“Devious tricks to get what you want, I see.”

His tone clearly says he is joking. He reaches his arms above his head, removing the undershirt as well. With his head resting on his arms, he’s soon lying down on his stomach. “Knock yourself out, then. Make sure you do it properly.”

“Nothing like taking advantage of your boyfriend’s generosity, huh?”

Regardless, this is exactly what Sorey has planned on doing, already in the process of removing his gloves. He pulls out the drawer of their night stand. Bottle of lotion now in hand, he straightens up again with his legs either side of Mikleo. He lathers the lotion between his fingers. Slowly, he pushes them up of the centre of Mikleo’s back, parting ways to spread over his shoulder blades.

“Mm.”

“Good?”

“Better at this than being the Shepherd.”

Sorey lets out a laugh, giving Mikleo a gentle slap at his shoulder before circling his thumb into a knot. “I’m not quitting my day job just to give you massages.”

“I don’t expect you to. I’m not giving you any gald for this, you know. I pay in the ridiculous amounts of soft serve you demand off me.”

“It’s not really _ridiculous,_ is it?”

“I mean, I’d probably be a thousand times better at fighting, if the time I spent making desserts for you guys was put into that instead.”

Sorey’s face falls a little. He silently continues to rub his hands into Mikleo’s shoulders before asking, “Is it really bothering you that much? Your insecurities, I mean.”

There’s no response for a moment. “I mean, it’s gotten better. I think I just have days where it gets worse.”

“I reckon that’s normal. I get days like that too.”

“What a right pair we are. Still, you have the Shepherd’s power, so you’ve got that going for you.”

“I suppose. But remember that I wouldn’t be able to use it half as well without you guys, so there’s something.” He smiles as Mikleo lets out a satisfied sound. “Still enjoying this?”

“Now I’m less tense, we’re shifting from pain to trying not to fall asleep.”

“You really are like a human sometimes, you know. Sometimes I even forget you’re a seraph.” Sorey leans down, pressing a kiss to Mikleo’s head. “ _But_ then I see how pretty your hair is, and then it all comes flooding back.”

“Ugh. Can’t go for five minutes without saying something sappy.”

Regardless, Sorey notices how one of Mikleo’s arms shift so it hides the smile on his face.

Sorey places another kiss to Mikleo, this time on the curve of his shoulder. A gentle trail is left across it as Sorey’s hands continue to massage into his muscles. A quiet sigh escapes him, all signs of tension seeming to ease away from him; he’s practically melted into the bed. He shivers as Sorey’s hands run down his spine.

Sorey is quite disappointed when he ends the massage, scooping up a towel nearby to wipe his hands on. One glance at Mikleo’s face tells him that it was more than enough regardless. Sorey leans back over him, gently easing him onto his side with a hand on his upper arm. Their lips are brought together.

Mikleo kisses back deeper than Sorey would have imagined with how sleepy he has become. A hand rests on Sorey’s arm, eyes still partially closed as their lips part. A sigh escapes him as Sorey’s lips find his neck.

“I have a potentially stupid question,” says Mikleo, causing Sorey to smile in amusement against the skin of his neck.

“That’s usually my thing, according to you,” says Sorey. “But what’s that?”

Mikleo’s fingers play with Sorey’s sleeve as a way to avoid Sorey’s eyes. “You’re a human, so you know about … stuff, better than I do. Is it normal to, you know … Get a bit turned on by things which aren’t actually sexual?” Mikleo appears to groan mentally the moment he says this. “That’s probably the worst thing I’ve asked since I had to question why humans make out.”

Sorey laughs lightly, shaking his head. “No, it’s not. I know attraction is more confusing for seraphim at first, considering they can’t reproduce like humans do.” Sorey’s fingers push strands of hair back from Mikleo’s face, before treading lightly down Mikleo’s neck. There’s the slightest quiver underneath. “But yeah, as far as I know, you can. Any intimacy and touch can be like that with the right person.”

“With the right person, you say.” Mikleo pauses with a slight smile, thumb trailing over Sorey’s upper arm. “That explains a lot.”

This is as direct as Mikleo will become. Sorey’s smile grows, his lips returning to Mikleo’s. His hand turns Mikleo over a little more to move him onto his back. It proceeds to trail down the side of his waist, treading over his stomach and slight hipbone protruding over the waistband of his trousers. Soft, loving touches from light fingertips. He wants to show Mikleo how the simplest of touches on this beautiful body can feel wonderful.

His tongue trails across Mikleo’s bottom lip. Mikleo’s mouth opens more to let it enter, a quiet moan escaping into Sorey’s mouth. Sorey feels Mikleo’s legs edge a little closer towards himself. A hand rests on Sorey’s upper back, fingers lightly grasping at the material of Sorey’s shirt when one of Sorey’s own hands is gliding over to Mikleo’s lower back.

 _He really is sensitive,_ Sorey thinks to himself. Every touch against Mikleo’s skin seems to be electrifying for him. Although as Mikleo had questioned, Sorey knows that a large part of this is from the pure love Mikleo has to be close to Sorey, and the thought causes a rush of affection to hit Sorey’s chest.

He leaves a light peck to Mikleo’s lips once their kiss breaks. His forehead presses against Mikleo’s, smiling as his hand trails lower, stroking over the curve of Mikleo’s rear. Mikleo holds the back of his hand over his mouth as Sorey squeezes gently.

“Okay?” Sorey asks. Mikleo nods, still not removing his hand from his face. The cheeks above it are dusted in pink. It’s easy to tell that Mikleo is simply embarrassed. With a smile, Sorey brushes back Mikleo’s hair off his forehead, placing a kiss on the skin above his circlet.

Sorey’s hands proceed to explore Mikleo’s torso. His lower stomach, up across his waist, to his ribcage. These fingertips stroke over Mikleo’s chest lightly. His back arches as they reach his nipples.

“Ngh—”

The hand grasping Sorey’s shirt does so a little more tightly. Sorey presses his lips to Mikleo’s cheek, a line of kisses left across his jaw. His fingers continue to tease lightly as he does so. Down Mikleo’s neck, across his collarbone—his gasps become louder—and down across his chest. Bringing his attention to a single nipple, Sorey’s other hand trails back down, caressing the skin of Mikleo’s body.

A gentle moan escapes Mikleo when a tongue laps over one nipple. His head is buried into Sorey’s shoulder. The skin of his body grows warmer, his trembles increasing, the more Sorey continues to give this gentle attention to him. Sorey is soon raising back up, Mikleo’s arms wrapped around him with his head still hidden.

“S-Sorey, I think I might—”

Sorey doesn’t need to hear the full sentence to know what he is going to say. He presses a kiss on Mikleo’s shoulder to show his understanding, one hand still attending to Mikleo’s chest as his other assists with pulling down Mikleo’s underwear and trousers. To be certain, as he knows how appalled Mikleo can become over possibly creating a mess, he then reaches for the towel left to one side to push it underneath Mikleo.

The grip on Sorey tightens for a moment, a muffled moan caught by his shoulder, as Mikleo finds his release. The hold immediately loosens. Sorey hears Mikleo breathe out.

“Did I really just do that?” he questions, causing Sorey to smile in amusement.

“I told you that it’s normal.”

“To be turned on, yeah. But that—”

“—just shows how much you enjoy being intimate with me.” Mikleo finally reveals his face a little when Sorey taps the top of his head with a box of tissues. “Nothing to be ashamed of.”

Mikleo’s, whose face is adorably flushed and hair fluffy from his hiding spot in Sorey’s shoulder, takes hold of the tissues as he avoids Sorey’s eyes. “I know, I’ve done it before from just this, but I’m used to following it up with more so it seems less … I don’t know. Do you need me to—?”

“Nah, I’m fine.” Sorey plants a kiss on the side of Mikleo’s head, before he slides off the bed, granting Mikleo a moment to clean himself off without fear of being embarrassed whilst doing so. Sorey scoops up Mikleo’s clothes in the meantime. “We don’t have to do anything more.”

“So am I just taking your services and leaving it at that?”

“Yep.”

“… Sweet, because man, that’s knocked me out.”

Sorey laughs. “Exactly why I said it.” By the time he returns to Mikleo, the latter is done with the tissues, his trousers now back into place. He begins to put on his upper clothing once Sorey hands it to him. “Bet you completely forgot about your need to train too, haven’t you?”

“Hasn’t crossed my mind once for a good while.”

“Then this is a success!”

Sorey settles down on the bed besides Mikleo, his back against the bed frame. He reaches for a book left on the night stand. By the time he has already opened it up to the bookmark, Mikleo has snuggled closer, resting his arms and head on Sorey’s chest.

“You’re not even going to stay awake, are you?” asks Sorey. “You’re just going to let me read to you until you fall asleep.”

“That’s the plan.”

Laughing, Sorey brings his arm around Mikleo. “Then I’ll wake you up when it’s time for dinner.”

Mikleo merely hums in acknowledgement. He smiles as Sorey leans down to kiss his head, fingertips tracing circles on his upper arm. Perfectly content.


End file.
